Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryEthics

crab-on-beach-stockpack-adobe-stock
crab on beach
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
March 25, 2022
Categorized
Ethics, Natural Intelligence
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Researchers Ask—Serious Question — Do Crabs Have Emotions?

Recent research has created some unexpected ethical problems for the seafood industry
Denyse O'Leary
March 25, 2022
4
Ethics, Natural Intelligence

At one time, the question of whether crabs or squid had emotions would seem ridiculous. Dogs and cats have emotions but squid and crabs don’t. Right? But in recent decades, it has become evident that there is no straightforward evolutionary path to “smartness.” What about the ability to experience pain or emotion as a dog or cat would? “A London School of Economics (LSE) report commissioned by the U.K. government found there is strong enough evidence to conclude that decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs are sentient,” says York University Professor and philosopher Kristin Andrews, the York Research Chair in Animal Minds, who is working with the LSE team. Andrews co-wrote an article published today in the journal Science, “The question Read More ›

hinduism-religious-ceremony-puja-flowers-and-candle-on-river-ganges-water-india-stockpack-adobe-stock
Hinduism religious ceremony puja flowers and candle on river Ganges water, India
Type
post
Author
News
Date
March 22, 2022
Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Religion
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Understanding the Hindu View of Free Will and Evil

Arjuna Gallagher points out that concepts of reincarnation and karma make both problems look very different in the Hindu tradition
News
March 22, 2022
16
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Religion

In last week’s Mind Matters News podcast, “Hinduism, Metaphysics, and Free Will,” neurosurgeon Michael Egnor again interviews Arjuna Gallagher, a Hindu in New Zealand. (The earlier podcast was Hinduism, Reincarnation, and the Mind–Body Problem.) Gallagher hosts a YouTube channel called Theology Unleashed, which has featured many guests discussing the spiritual dimension of our lives — philosopher David Bentley Hart, neuroscientist Mark Solms, atheist Matt Dillahunty… a variety of voices on the spiritual life. Gallagher has also produced a documentary, The Persecuted Saints You’ve Never Heard Of about the persecution of Orthodox Christian monks. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Mind-Matters-News-Episode-178-Arjuna-Gallagher-Episode-2-rev1.mp3 A partial transcript, notes, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow: Michael Egnor: In our last session, we talked a little bit about the evolutionary argument against Read More ›

ai-cyberpunk-konzept-transhuman-cyborg-kopf-mit-sonnenbrille-neon-beleuchtet-leuchtend-3d-render-illustration-4k-stockpack-adobe-stock
AI Cyberpunk Konzept: Transhuman / Cyborg Kopf mit Sonnenbrille; Neon beleuchtet + leuchtend | 3D Render Illustration [4K]
Type
post
Author
J.R. Miller
Date
March 20, 2022
Categorized
Ethics, Transhumanism
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Why the Imago Dei (Image of God) Shuts the Door on Transhumanism

As the belief that technology promises us a glorious post-human future advances among scholar who profess Christianity, we must ask some hard questions
J.R. Miller
March 20, 2022
6
Ethics, Transhumanism

Transhumanist ideology is advancing among scholars who profess Christianity so the question must be asked, is the dream of a post-human (Human+) existence compatible with the Christian faith? More specifically, is transhumanism (H+) compatible with the doctrine of Adam and Eve as the first humans created in the “image of God” (imago Dei)? The answer is no. The biblical doctrine that God’s image exists in every human person — and also in humanity as a whole — shuts the door to transhumanism. We can see this if we look at what the Bible teaches about anthropology, ethics, and salvation in Christ alone. Anthropology: Who does the Bible say that we are? First, the transhumanist history of human origins and Human+ Read More ›

sculptor-artist-creating-a-bust-sculpture-with-clay-stockpack-adobe-stock
Sculptor artist creating a bust sculpture with clay
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 19, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Relationships
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Firefly Episode 7: Jayne Can’t Live With Himself As a Hero

Jayne Cobb, otherwise dumb muscle, once helped many people — inadvertently — and is stuck with deadly consequences when the truth emerges
Gary Varner
March 19, 2022
10
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Relationships

After the strong “Stagecoach” rebound of Episode 6, Episode 7 focuses on Jayne Cobb. Up to now, the dumb muscle has mainly been comic relief. But when Mal and his crew stop by a planet to retrieve some smuggled cargo — under the pretense of ordering a shipment of mud used to make ceramic parts — we learn a little more about the big man’s past. As the crew exits the Serenity to pick up the goods, they come across a giant mud statue… of Jayne. He has no idea why the statue is there but, come to think of it, he’s been acting nervous throughout the mission. Years ago, we learn, things went south at a job he was Read More ›

mayapur-temple-iskon-headquarter-stockpack-adobe-stock
Mayapur temple , ISKON headquarter.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
March 14, 2022
Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Religion
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What Do the World’s 1.2 Billion Hindus Think About the Mind?

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviews Hindu Arjuna Gallagher on the similarities and differences between that tradition and Western theism
News
March 14, 2022
22
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Religion

In our most recent Mind Matters News podcast, “Hinduism, Reincarnation, and the Mind–Body Problem,” neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviews Arjuna Gallagher, a Hindu in New Zealand. Gallagher hosts a YouTube channel called Theology Unleashed, which features an array of guests who have something to say about the spiritual dimension of our lives — philosopher David Bentley Hart, neuroscientist Mark Solms, atheist Matt Dillahunty… a variety of voices that can help us understand the intellectual climate in which we live. Gallagher has also produced a documentary, The Persecuted Saints You’ve Never Heard Of.about the persecution of Orthodox Christian monks. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Mind-Matters-News-Episode-177-Arjuna-Gallagher-Episode-1-rev1.mp3 A partial transcript and notes, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Michael Egnor: I don’t know a lot about Hinduism, and I Read More ›

warhead-on-transport-stand-against-a-rocket-weapons-of-mass-destruction-nuclear-weapons-chemical-weapons-a-bomb-stockpack-adobe-stock
warhead on transport stand, against a rocket. Weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, a bomb.
Type
post
Author
Forrest M. Mims III
Date
March 9, 2022
Categorized
Ethics, Medicine and Health, Military
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What Would a Real-World Nuclear Attack Be Like?

We know some of what it would be like from the records and reconstruction of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima
Forrest M. Mims III
March 9, 2022
6
Ethics, Medicine and Health, Military

Since 1992, I’ve made annual visits to one of the most tranquil places I know, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory 11,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean. After calibrating my atmospheric instruments, every evening I photograph the sunset while thinking about the horrors of nuclear war. That’s because I’m standing behind the old Atomic Energy Commission Building, from where nuclear tests over the Pacific were once photographed. The origin of those tests occurred 38 minutes before sunrise on July 16, 1945, when the pitch-black sky over New Mexico’s Jornada del Muerto (Journey of Death) desert was instantaneously transformed into a blinding white glare. Scientists and technicians observed this phenomenon from miles away through welder’s glass to protect their eyes. What they saw Read More ›

texture-of-multi-colored-sweet-marshmallows-marshmallows-candy-for-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Texture of multi-colored sweet marshmallows. Marshmallows candy for background.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
March 1, 2022
Categorized
Education, Ethics, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Can Waiting for a Marshmallow Predict a Child’s Future?

Believing so was all the rage in recent decades but later research didn’t back up the idea
News
March 1, 2022
8
Education, Ethics, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

You’ve maybe heard of Stanford University’s “marshmallow experiment,” right? A child’s future can be predicted, we were told by psychologist Walter Mischel (1930–2018), by whether the child can delay gratification: Walter Mischel’s pioneering research at Bing in the late 1960s and early 1970s famously explored what enabled preschool-aged children to forgo immediate gratification in exchange for a larger but delayed reward… This research identified some of the key cognitive skills, strategies, plans and mindsets that enable self-control. If the children focused on the “hot” qualities of the temptations (e.g., “The marshmallows are sweet, chewy, yummy”), they soon rang the bell to bring the researcher back. If they focused on their abstract “cool” features (“The marshmallows are puffy and round like Read More ›

abstract-planets-and-space-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Abstract planets and space background
Type
post
Author
News
Date
February 27, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Environment, Ethics, Medicine and Health, Science
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Future Technologies — Zoom! … or Doom?

Astrophysicist Adam Frank sees a new role for us as galaxy gods as exhilarating but others aren’t so sure
News
February 27, 2022
8
Arts & Culture, Environment, Ethics, Medicine and Health, Science

Astrophysicist Adam Frank asks us to consider where we are on the Kardashev Scale for evaluating civilizations in the galaxy — or, at least, evaluating our own progress: Originally proposed in 1964 by Nikolai Kardashev (1932–2019) and later modified in 1973 by Carl Sagan (1934–1996), the scale measures a civilization’s technological advances from 1 to 3 (or maybe 5) by how much energy it can call upon to do things. Currently, we are not even a Type 1 on that scale and Frank offers some thoughts on that, asking, in particular, whether such advances are universal in the galaxy anyway: The classification scheme Kardashev used was not based on social systems of ethics because these are things that we can Read More ›

laser-cannon-incapacitates-enemy-satellite-in-space-stockpack-adobe-stock
Laser Cannon Incapacitates Enemy Satellite In Space
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
February 12, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Medicine and Health, Religion
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Firefly Episode 3: Should Some People Be Left To Die?

After the space crew rescues the survivor of a pirate attack, Captain Mal faces off against The Shepherd on whether God can save even that man.
Gary Varner
February 12, 2022
10
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Medicine and Health, Religion

Episode 3 begins with a friendly game of basketball… or something like it. Simon, a doctor who has joined the Firefly crew, notes that there appear to be no rules to the game as he watches from the balcony. The game is interrupted by a “proximity alert” and the crew discovers a wrecked ship floating in space. The captain decides to check it out and they quickly discover that the ship has been attacked by the infamous Reavers. We’d seen their ship once in episode one, and we’d heard some ominous descriptions of what they do to their prisoners: “If they take the ship, they’ll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing. And, Read More ›

concept-of-asteroid-mining-in-space-for-rare-raw-materials-stockpack-adobe-stock
Concept of asteroid mining in space for rare raw materials
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
February 5, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics
Tagged
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Firefly Episode 2: When Captain Mal Gets a Pang of Conscience…

In the 2002 series, he decides to return stolen goods when he learns of the plight of those from whom they are stolen — with fearsome consequences
Gary Varner
February 5, 2022
9
Arts & Culture, Ethics

Last time, we discussed the first episode of the 2002 Firefly series because Disney is thinking about ruining it with another season. In case you were wondering, this review contains spoilers. In Episode 2, we find Captain Malcolm getting to know his passengers. The doctor’s sister River is suffering flashbacks from her time in the “labs.” Despite being a doctor, her brother Simon has no idea what’s wrong her. She keeps repeating the phrase, “Hands are blue, two by two.” After a bar brawl, the crew lands a job. It’s an old-fashioned train heist. Malcolm and Zoe, his partner in crime, land on the train and steal the goods by latching them to their ship and lifting them into the Read More ›

surreal-3d-illustration-of-multiple-faces-in-a-wall-concept-of-post-human-and-transhumanism-ideas-stockpack-adobe-stock
Surreal 3d illustration of multiple faces in a wall. Concept of post-human and transhumanism ideas.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 27, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Transhumanism
Tagged
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Is Transhumanism Really a Form of Liberation?

The central transhumanist doctrine is that the body can be dispensed with. What are the consequences?
News
January 27, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Transhumanism

Libby Emmons, editor-in-chief at The Post Millennial, Canada’s non-Woke “young” media outlet, offered some unexpected thoughts on transhumanism, the idea that we must take charge of the evolution of our species — sometimes expressed in the idea that we can upload ourselves as digital entities and live forever. Emmons is not sure that transhumanism is really a form of liberation. She acknowledges the value of, for example, prostheses controlled by thoughts alone. But she asks us to consider what full-blown transhumanism entails: With the widespread acceptance of human augmentation, bio-tech, AI, and transgenderism, we are removing agency from the human body, and granting it entirely to the mind. But our humanity lies not in our consciousness, but in the biological Read More ›

3d-rendered-medically-accurate-illustration-of-twin-fetuses-week-17-stockpack-adobe-stock
3d rendered medically accurate illustration of twin fetuses - week 17
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 24, 2022
Categorized
Ethics, Science
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There’s No Science Argument on Whether Unborn Children Are Human

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor notes that abortion activists argue that the embryo is a different species, some unclassified thing, or part of the mother — that’s politics, not science
News
January 24, 2022
6
Ethics, Science

The recent March for Life in Washington featured signs like “Save the baby humans” (featuring a whale), “Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love” – Mother Theresa” and “One heart stops; many hearts break.” Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor has a message for people who wonder whether the preborn child is a human being: Ever ask #Why we should believe that a human embryo is a human life? There is no question about it—from the moment of conception, a unique human being exists. Pro-abortion activists will try to say that the embryo is a different species, some unclassified thing, or part of the mother, but none of these are true. The science of sexual reproduction is as Read More ›

logging-aerial-drone-view-of-deforestation-environmental-problem-stockpack-adobe-stock
Logging. Aerial drone view of deforestation environmental problem.
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
January 22, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Environment, Ethics
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Aliens as Both Angels — and Bugs? Superior But Sociopathic?

A look at the puzzling 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - environment doom replaces the Cold War
Gary Varner
January 22, 2022
5
Arts & Culture, Environment, Ethics

Last week I reviewed the 1951 classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. Before watching the original, I had decided to watch the 2008 remake. I now regret my decision. Let’s talk about the 2008 movie featuring Keanu Reeves. The 2008 movie opens with essentially the same beats as the original. The spaceship lands, but it is not metal; it’s a bizarre space orb, made of different kinds of luminescent biological material. This change gives the aliens an ethereal quality. They are entities that have reached demi-god status. The writers even go to the trouble of showing the ship hovering over a cathedral, illuminating the building. The movie is practically screaming, “They’re Angels! Get it!” The alien, Klaatu, steps out Read More ›

powerful-personal-computer-gamer-rig-with-first-person-shooter-game-on-screen-monitor-stands-on-the-table-at-home-cozy-room-with-modern-design-is-lit-with-pink-neon-light-stockpack-adobe-stock
Powerful Personal Computer Gamer Rig with First-Person Shooter Game on Screen. Monitor Stands on the Table at Home. Cozy Room with Modern Design is Lit with Pink Neon Light.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 20, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics
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Do AI Entities in Virtual Worlds Have Rights?

A professor of game designing argues that they do; Wesley J. Smith disagrees
News
January 20, 2022
3
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics

Pointing to an article at The Conversation, “How to be a god: we might one day create virtual worlds with characters as intelligent as ourselves,” Wesley J. Smith offers, We have enough problems with attaining universal human rights, but activists want animals and “nature” to have human-type rights. Transhumanists and futurists also worry about guaranteeing rights for AI technologies when they attain “consciousness.” The latest example comes in The Conversation from a professor of game designing — who knew that was an academic discipline? — named Richard A. Bartle, at the University of Essex. He believes that “we may one day create virtual worlds with creatures as intelligent as ourselves.” From, “How to Be a God“: “I believe we will Read More ›

shaved-male-nape-and-a-lot-of-usb-cables-connected-to-it-concept-of-dependence-in-thinking-and-information-stockpack-adobe-stock
Shaved male nape and a lot of usb cables connected to it. Concept of dependence in thinking and information
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
January 15, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Robotics
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Enforce the Law With No Bias? Use Robots! Oops, Wait…

The 2008 remake of the 1951 film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, explores the concept
Gary Varner
January 15, 2022
5
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Robotics

Since we’ve been reviewing the Matrix movies, I thought I would review another sci-fi film starring Keanu Reeves, The Day the Earth Stood Still, (2008) which was a remake of a film of the same name that came out in 1951. However, as I was watching this train wreck, even by remake standards, I thought I ought to watch the original for a little extra context. What I saw compelled me to write this review. Here’s a trailer for the original, which gives some sense of the period: Now the new version: The movie opens with a spaceship landing and the alien, Klaatu, and his robot, Gort, stepping out of the ship. Klaatu is shot and Gort destroys a few Read More ›

greatThinker
Type
post
Author
J.R. Miller
Date
January 13, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Transhumanism
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Eugenics, Transhumanism, and Artificial Intelligence

If we were to succeed at creating an ethical decision-making AI, whose ethics would it abide by?
J.R. Miller
January 13, 2022
6
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Transhumanism

In his article for the Digital Journal, Saratendu Sethi argues that to build a sustainable global supply chain requires the humanization of AI. This technological revolution, he says, includes “truly autonomous and self-correcting supply chains” that will replace the flawed capital-driven decision making of humans. Sethi defines this utilitarian mission of serving the “greater good” through what he calls a “sustainable, ethical and responsible world that puts equity for all at the center.” His motive of helping everyone while protecting the environment is commendable, yet the larger question remains, whose ethic will drive the logic used by this AI? When resources are limited, how will this AI decide who gets food and who gets medicine? Based on my own study, Sethi’s Read More ›

neon city
Neon night in a futuristic city. Photorealistic 3D illustration. Wallpaper in a cyberpunk style. Empty street with neon lights reflecting in a water. Beautiful night cityscape. Grunge urban landscape.
Type
post
Author
J.R. Miller
Date
January 1, 2022
Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Transhumanism
Tagged
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With Transhumanism, What Happens to Human Rights?

The transhumanist accepts suffering for the individual if suffering can advance the evolution of the species toward immortality and singularity
J.R. Miller
January 1, 2022
6
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Transhumanism

The 2018 Netflix series, Altered Carbon, depicts a future society where people hope to live forever by digitizing their consciousness and storing it in a “cortical stack.” This technological marvel is then inserted into any number of interchangeable bodies when the old “sleve” dies. But what you and I may watch for entertainment is for many scientists, philosophers, and theologians a life’s mission. This dream of life without end through technology is called transhumanism. Transhumanism (Humanity+ or hereafter H+) is a 20th– century endeavor grounded in rational humanism that trusts technological advances to answer two key questions of human existence: “What does it mean to be human?” and “What is the future of humanity?” For the transhumanist, these two questions Read More ›

crab-close-up-cuba-stockpack-adobe-stock
Crab close up, Cuba
Type
post
Author
News
Date
December 31, 2021
Categorized
Ethics, Natural Intelligence
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How Could We Know If an Octopus or Lobster Felt Pain?

Researchers found that, when it comes to awareness, octopuses were the stars, followed by lobsters, crayfish, crabs, etc.
News
December 31, 2021
4
Ethics, Natural Intelligence

Some researchers, commissioned to find out, offered their wrap-up thoughts at Phys.org recently. They started applying the same standards to octopuses as are applied to mammals that are lab animals. Specifically, they used eight criteria for determining sentience — in the sense that, if you did the same thing to a dog and got the same reaction, would you assume it was pain? The results have been interesting: We found the strongest evidence for sentience in cephalopods. Octopuses were the stars. With around 170 million brain cells, they have higher brain-to-body ratios than most reptiles and fish. This allows octopuses to perform remarkable feats of learning and memory. Octopuses also behave in ways that point strongly to experiences of pain. Read More ›

chained typewriter
Information censorship - Typewriter locked with a chain
Type
post
Author
News
Date
December 29, 2021
Categorized
Ethics, Law, Media
Tagged
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Are Media Gag Orders Fair in an Internet World?

Editor Michael Cook says no, based on the Pell sex abuse case Down Under. New ways must be found to ensure that a jury is not prejudiced
News
December 29, 2021
9
Ethics, Law, Media

This article by editor Michael Cook tackles the problem of media gag orders in an internet world. Australian media outlets were recently fined A$1.1 million for contempt of court for publishing information that was widely available elsewhere concerning the trial of George, Cardinal Pell on charges of sexual molestation. Significantly, they could not publish information that cast doubt on the fairness of the trial, that they were in a better position to understand than foreign media would be. Cook suggests new approaches going forward. The article first appeared at MercatorNet on June 9, 2021 under the title “They’re still picking up the pieces after the Cardinal Pell fiasco.” A media pygmy, MercatorNet spends much of its time complaining about the mainstream media Read More ›

fetus hands
embryo silhouette in woman hand
Type
post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
December 28, 2021
Categorized
Ethics, Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Relationships, Social Media
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Political Website’s Christmas Gift to Readers: Promoting Abortion

FiveThirtyEight asked readers to share their abortion stories and got something it hadn’t bargained on: Many were glad it didn’t happen
Michael Egnor
December 28, 2021
6
Ethics, Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Relationships, Social Media
If you want to understand the mindset of the abortion lobby, note that this plea for accounts of killing of children in the womb appeared on Twitter on Christmas Day. Read More ›